The Mekong Delta has exported 377,000 tonnes of tra fish, worth 1.1billion USD so far this year, to 133 countries and territories acrossthe world.

This represents a drop of 3.2 percentagainst the same period last year, according to the Mekong Delta’ssteering committee for tra fish production and consumption.

The US, EU and ASEAN currently consume 59 percent of the region’s total tra fish exports.

This year the region has produced 833,000 tonnes of tra fish, whichwere reared in over 3,000 hectares of fish farms, with an averageproductivity of 265 tonnes per hectare.

The acreageof fish farms has increased by 66 percent and productivity is up 25tonnes per hectare over the same period last year.

However, the sector is facing a wide range of difficulties including adecline in prices since the end of March this year and a shortage ofcapital.

To deal with these difficulties, theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development has instructed the MekongDelta to retain a minimum of 5,500 hectares for breeding this year.

It is essential for regional provinces to pay more attention to thequality of the fry and the fish food when breeding, while developing themarket for tra fish.

The ministry has also proposedthat the Government introduces a series of supportive measures forbusinesses, including extending the deadlines on loans and providingbusinesses that have capital difficulties with access to loans.-VNA